Extending theories on muon-specific interactions

The proton radius puzzle, the discrepancy between the proton radius measured in muonic hydrogen and electronic hydrogen, has yet to be resolved. There are suggestions that beyond-the-standard-model physics could resolve both this puzzle and the muon anomalous magnetic moment discrepancy. Karshenboim et al. point out that simple, nonrenormalizable, models in this direction involving new vector bosons have serious problems when confronting high energy data. The prime example is radiative corrections to W - \u3e mu nu decay which exceed experimental bounds. We show how embedding the model in a larger and arguably renormalizable theory restores gauge invariance of the vector particle interactions and controls the high energy behavior of decay and scattering amplitudes. Thus, beyond-the-standard-model explanations of the proton radius puzzle can still be viable

The Student-Led Zero Waste Movement

In this workshop, we have participants envision what a zero waste campus would look like. We break the room into groups and give them a limited amount of time to draw or map out how they would prevent specific forms of waste from entering campus, how they would control the collection, logistics, and flow of waste through campus, and how they would manage the process of removing waste (if any) from campus. If time allows, we also tack on an additional step of designing innovative ideas for how students can cut down on the amount of waste produced within a campus. For example, a tool share could allow students to rent tools rather than having to buy them, similar to a bike share. Students may also envision a campus thrift store, a community garden, or an upcycling workshop space, as examples. Throughout the presentation we sprinkle in many key leadership lessons; how to communicate effectively with campus professionals, when and how to follow up, working with a team, facilitating and delegating tasks, negotiation strategy, and more. Once their visions have been mapped out, we run an exercise on power-mapping and discuss how students can go about implementing change on their campuses. Who do they need to talk to, how should they go about conducting those types of meetings and conversations, and where do they turn when they face hurdles and challenges along the way

The object-tool duality in mathematical modelling: a framework to analyze students’ appropriation of Sankey diagrams to model dynamic processes

Students often do not experience the relevance of learning mathematics. This paper reports on an exploratory case study, in which a class of grade 8 students (n=35) was introduced to Sankey diagrams. The aim was to explore to what extent these students could appropriate Sankey diagrams, meaning: they could describe these as objects in themselves and they could use them to model and visualize phenomena relevant to them. Based on Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, we developed an analytical construct defined as the object-tool duality, coordinating mathematics as a set of objects and as a set of tools. The analysis of students’ answers showed that they could use these diagrams as tools to visualize phenomena. When asked to describe the object, all mentioned the tool-side. So, in their appropriation the tool-side came before the object-side. Our contribution is that teaching the tool-side of mathematics before the object-side may increase students’ sense of the relevance of mathematics, which is a topic to develop for future research

Ambulatory health care visits by children: principal diagnosis and place of visit

OBJECTIVES: This report presents national estimates of ambulatory health care use by children under 15 years of age according to principal diagnosis, place of visit (physician office, hospital outpatient department, and hospital emergency department), and patient characteristics (age, sex, and race).METHODS: Data were from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Data were from 1993-95.RESULTS: In 1993-95 children under 15 years of age made 165.3 million visits per year (289 visits per 100 children). Visit rates were highest among infants and varied inversely with age. Visit rates were 43 percent higher among white children than black children. Three-quarters of ambulatory visits occurred in physician offices, 8 percent in hospital outpatient departments, and 14 percent in hospital emergency departments. Visits by white children were more likely to occur in physician offices than visits by black children (81 percent and 54 percent). Conversely, visits by black children were more likely to occur in hospital outpatient departments (19 percent and 7 percent) and hospital emergency departments (28 percent and 12 percent) than visits by white children. The following principal diagnoses accounted for almost 40 percent of visits: well-child visit, 15 percent; middle ear infection, 12 percent; and injury, 10 percent. Rates for well-child visits were almost 80 percent higher among white infants than black infants. Continued monitoring of these differences in use of ambulatory care among children are needed, particularly in view of the possible impact of changes in the health care system on these differences.By Virginia M. Freid, Diane M. Makuc, Ronica N. Rooks.Includes bibliographical references (p. 8).963164

Health care utilization among adults aged 55-64 years: how has it changed over the past 10 years?

"KEY FINDINGS: The percentage of physician office and hospital outpatient department (OPD) visits during which an MRI/CT/PET scan was ordered doubled, to 4%, and the percentage of hospital emergency department visits with an MRI/CT scan more than tripled, to 16%. The percentage of physician office and OPD visits with at least five drugs prescribed more than doubled, to 25%. Inpatient hospitalization rates were similar in 2006 and 1996, but the types of procedures and surgeries performed have changed. Hospitalization rates for coronary artery stent insertions, hip replacements, and knee replacements rose sharply, while rates for some other procedures declined. Ambulatory surgery visit rates were almost twice as high in 2006 as in 1994-1996, and for some types of ambulatory procedures, such as colonoscopies, the increase was even greater."Virginia M. Freid and Amy B. Bernstein.Caption title."March 2010."Includes bibliographical references (p. [8])